FILLED PEPPERS IN TOMATO SAUCE (VEGAN)

I have (had) this favorite meal since a little child. Stuffed peppers with minced meat and rice baked in the oven and then cooked in the tomato sauce. Served with mash potatoes. Even now – since being vegetarian (almost vegan) just the mentioning of this food makes my mouth go all watery.

So I decided today to try and make some – vegan ones. I knew it would be some work – especially if you do something for the first time. So it began with fishing for recipes online – what I usually do – and then combine them or taking something off the recipe. Make them my own. I couldn’t find something that would satisfy my idea – so I did this by myself. The result was absolutely wonderful. Even better than the meaty ones I had years ago. <3

Here is the recipe, step by step. It does take around an hour to make them – but you can make the whole pot and eat them through the weekend. Or freeze them down. Either way – this recipe is a star.

Ingredients; (4 people)

* 8 medium peppers (red and yellow, the best are pale yellow because of the thinner skin)
* 2 cups of tomato sauce
* ½ cup of Arborio rice (for risotto) and ½ cup of quinoa (if you don’t have any just use 1 cup of rice)
* 1 medium potato, 1 onion, 1 carrot
* 1 cup of sage and onion stuffing ( I have bought it in the store under gluten free compartment). You can also make stuffing yourself – with sage, parsley, roasted onions, and breadcrumbs

2. Start to prepare the stuffing. – take half of the onion and simmer it in little oil for 3-4 minutes. Put in rice and quinoa. Stir around and add some veggie stock or bouillon (half the cup). When rice absorbs it – add some more and stir. Repeat till you use 2 – 2,5 cups of boiling water (mixed with veggie stock). It will take 20 min for rice and quinoa to be cooked. – cut half onion put it in another pan with little oil. Simmer for 4-5 minutes and add ½ cup of red wine. Add shredded carrot and shredded potato. Stir around the pan for 8-10 minutes. – prepare the sage and onion stuffing (take half of the cup and put over 1 cup of boiling water and some vegan butter and stir. – put all three ingredients together in one bowl (cooked rice, cooked carrot with potato and sage stuffing). For vegetarians – this is a good time to add some freshly grated parmesan cheese

There’s also a second way of doing the stuffing that will resemble the traditional peppers stuffing with minced meat – you can do it with soy crumble substitute. Just pour some boiling water over a cup of soy crumble (bought in any health store) and add a veg cube stock. Add some black pepper, marjoram, and a tea spoon of mild muster. Combine soy with half of cup of cooked rice and stuff the bell peppers with it.

3. Fill the peppers and put them vertically in a baking tray (with a little oil) so they will all fit in. Bake for 30 minutes.

4. Meanwhile – prepare the sauce. – in a cooking pan put some oil, add tomato puree (2-3 tablespoons) and sweet red pepper seasoning. Pinch of red wine. – add 2 cups of tomato sauce and half of litter of boiling water– than mix approximately 3 table spoons of flour with a cup of cold water and stir with a fork – so all the bums disappear. Slowly put in the sauce, stirring the whole time to make the sauce thicker. – add halved apple, 2 tea spoons of lemon juice, some nutmeg and bay leaf. Also put in some agave syrup or a little bit of sugar (taste – it should be just right sweet and just right sauer). Cook for 15 minutes.

5. When the peppers are done in the oven – put them in the sauce and cook for another 10 minutes.

6. Make the mash potatoes – just as you like them. Mine are with vegan butter and rice milk.

7. Serve with half mash potato, sauce and 2 peppers per person.

And I’m hungry again – just by writing this recipe. Feel free to make something differently, season by your own taste – don’t be afraid to experiment a little. This recipe works! 😉